NBC making a fortune on each 30-second Super Bowl ad

The hefty price tag of 30-second Super Bowl commercials will bring NBC in excess of $500 million in total ad revenue, which experts predict will be roughly equal to the amount that came in from last year’s record-breaking playoff game.

Dan Lovinger, NBC Sports executive vice president of advertising sales, said Thursday that the average price for 30-second Super Bowl LII ads sold so far are “north of $5 million,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

The network expects to collect the same rate — an average of $5 million per 30 seconds — which is the same as last year, when the event won the distinction of rating America’s most-watched program in U.S. television history. And some analysts argued that even that cost was (and likely still is) “a bargain.”

“All we’ve seen is enthusiasm for the Super Bowl,” Lovinger said, according to the LA Times. He also said that there are still a handful of open ad slots.

“The game itself almost transcends the season,” he said, probably in reference to an uptick in injuries, player protests, and plummeting television ratings.